It all started with love when Vagelis Chatzivaritis met his soon-to-be wife Olga Iakovidou in 1981. She was from Goumenissa, a place with a long tradition in winemaking. Little did he know that this was the place where he would, later on in life, dedicate himself to the creation of a very unique and widely undiscovered Greek wine. Being a wine lover himself, and a man who also appreciated fine food and the simple pleasures of life, he started making his own wine to enjoy with the company of his good friends and close relatives. For Vagelis, winemaking was simply a hobby and time-out from his demanding career as a mechanical engineer.
In 1994 he planted the first 5 hectares of vineyard in the Bindabla area. Emphasizing the quality of the grapes, soil fertility, and environmental protection organic farming was chosen since the first-ever plantation. Expansion of the vineyard was inevitable, and it was done gradually by planting parcels in the area of Filyria. The climate in the region is continental with plenty of rainfall in winter and hot, dry summer with cool nights. In 2007, a wonderful “boutique” winery was built in the parcel of Filyria. The production started with the well-known PDO Goumenissa wine which quickly developed into an emblematic wine for the region and was distinguished for its elegance. Over the next 10 years, the range of wines grew, and the winery began to produce other red, white, and rosé wines.
In 2017, the daughter of Vangelis and Olga – Chloi – decided to return to Greece after studying oenology in France and Portugal and having worked in various wineries in France, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile. When she returned, she brought with her passion and experience for low intervention wines and immediately started making a new range of wines without interventions and experimenting with new wine-making techniques, such as petnat (pétillant naturel) and carbonic maceration. Today the vineyard of the estate consists of 20 hectares. The Chatzivaritis Estate focuses on the Greek varieties of Xinomavro, Negoska, Roditis, Malagousia, Muscat, and Assyrtiko, and also cultivates the popular Sauvignon blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon in smaller surfaces.
“Our story is made out of long summer Mediterranean-style family gatherings, endless late-night discussions intoxicated by the love for winemaking, and a wine that speaks for itself. And this is why we make wine as we live.. with meraki!”
